Report suggests that the demand for hops has never been higher, but high temperatures hurt the crop’s output in 2014.
Report suggests that the demand for hops has never been higher, but high temperatures hurt the crop’s output in 2014.
Although U.S. growers planted an additional 3,600 acres of hops in 2014, the yields dropped by 4.79 percent. An unseasonably hot July in the Pacific Northwest resulted in lighter cones and yields in some varieties that were down as much as 40 percent, said MacKinnon, “In 2015 there’s no margin for error for hops growers,” [Douglas MacKinnon of 47 Hops] said. “The hop acreage increased by 10 percent in 2014, but the craft beer industry grew by 20 percent. Growers worldwide can’t plant hops fast enough to keep up with demand.”
Among the highlights of the report:
- The Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon and Idaho) harvested 98 percent of all commercially grown hops in the United States.
- The 38,011 acres planted in 2014 was the most since 2009 (39,726 acres). With an additional 5,000 acres set to come online in 2015, acreage is expected to surpass the all-time record of 40,898 acres of hops planted in 2008.
- Although alpha hop acreage continues to come out at a record pace, CTZ continues to be the king of the U.S. hop varieties, making up 23 percent of the hops planted. Cascade was second at 16.6 percent.
- Today, Germany is the world’s top alpha producer, owning 44 percent of the market. The U.S. is second at 39 percent. It was less than a decade ago when those roles were reversed.
- The top countries from which the U.S. imported hops: Germany, United Kingdom and Australia.
Read more at OregonLive.com.
